I could never forget
by HotchTitch
Summary: A Hotch/Haley one-shot, slightly AU


/ I do not own criminal minds, all the usual stuff when it comes to copyright. First Hotch/Haley fanfic - and first ever uploaded fanfic. Reviews are appreciated, enjoy :) /

Hotch groaned and turned over in his bed, hearing the familiar buzzing of him alarm clock. It was too early to get up and he had been having a nice dream. Regrettably, he reached over and turned it on snooze for 5 minutes, before snuggling into his lover.

"Morning," she whispered sleepily, turning in his arms to face him. He smiled softly and placed a soft kiss on her lips. "Morning to you too," he said, fighting a yawn. He would feel more awake after his morning shower, but until then, he just wanted to snuggle into Haley.

"Abbey will be up in a minute," he said, hitting the off button on his alarm this time and clambered out of the bed, shivering slightly. Haley frowned and pushed herself into a sitting position, pulling the cover around her. "Yeah... she will," she said, biting her lip as Hotch disappeared out of their bedroom to tend to their crying daughter. Had he forgotten?

Haley smiled softly, watching her husband cradle Abbey to his chest; rubbing her back to sooth the now sniffling child. "Want to see you mommy?" He cooed softly, handing Abbey over to Haley before he headed to the bathroom to get ready. Again, Haley frowned and pulled on a t-shirt of Hotch's on and followed him to the bathroom, holding Abigail as she stood in the doorway.

"Aaron, you don't remember anything special happening today, do you?" She asked curiously, rocking Abbey back and forth. Hotch turned on the shower and climbed in, before shaking his head. "No, not that I can remember." Haley glared at him through the door. He had actually forgotten.

"Oh, well, I'm going swimming with Abbey and Jessica later; could you drop Jack off at school for me?" She asked, putting a fake smile on her lips as he came out of the bathroom with only a towel around her waist. Hotch placed a kiss on her lips before nodding. "Sure honey. Oh, I need to go in to work today too. We've got a lot of paperwork to do."

This push Haley over the edge. "For God's sake Aaron, today's supposed to be your day off! We've spoken about this and you're going back to how you used to be, I'm sick of it," she said, before storming off to their bedroom and slamming the door. She opened it a few moments later to chuck his suit out, but then she shut it again.

Jack stood in his bedroom doorway, rubbing his eyes and pulling on his pyjama top. "Ared you and mommy fighting 'gen daddy?" He asked sleepily. Hotch shook his head and bent down to his level. "No, buddy, mommy's just angry at daddy because daddy has to go and fight bad guy butt again." Jack just nodded and went back into his room, pulling going to get ready for school. He was used to them fighting although this was the first time they had done it recently.

Hotch and Jack were out of the house only 15 minutes later; bumping into Jessica on the doorstep. "Is Haley in?" She asked with a smile, as Aaron nodded. "Yeah; she's in the bedroom. She thinks I forgot," he explained with a shrug. Jessica's smile grew a little wider. "Good; then everything's set for 5 tonight, right?"

Again, Hotch nodded. "Yeah, it is. I really need to get Jack off to school, I'm sorry," he said quickly, a smirk on his lips as he hurried to his car and helped strap Jack in; soon driving off.

Jessica knocked on the Hotchner's door and called in, letting Haley know it was her and not Aaron. She hadn't quite expected her sister to open the door quite so quick, but she was happy to see her all the same.

"Happy birthday Haley," she said, pulling her sister into a hug and then kissing Abigail on the forehead. "How's my niece do–"

"He completely forgot! Aaron forgot it was my birthday," she fumed, setting Abbey down on the floor and shutting the door after her sister was inside. Haley was properly dressed now, having dressed after shouting at Aaron.

"I'm sure he didn't mean too, he just has a lot on his plate," she said in his defence. A glare was all she got in return. "Anyway, you should forget about him not knowing; you, Abbey and I are going to have fun swimming, right?" Haley mumbled something under her breath before grabbing her already prepared bag and getting Abbey ready. "Let's go."

* * *

'we've left, you can go in now' – _"who are you texting?"_

'thanks Jess' – _"Can we go in yet?"_

'i'll text you when we're coming back' – _"Jessica Brooks, I demand to know who you're texting!"_

'see you soon' – _"Aaron, stop texting and help me set everything up!"_

_

* * *

_

"Jessica, are you going to tell me who you were texting earlier, or am I not allowed to meet your mystery man?" Haley questioned, her eyebrow raised. The day had passed by quicker than Haley would have liked; she was still mad at her husband for forgetting her birthday.

"You'll meet him soon enough; I promise," she said, letting Haley open the door. Haley was a little taken back when she was greeted by a chorus of, "Happy Birthday." Tears filled her eyes as she saw Aaron standing there, a goofy smile on his face.

Haley handed Abbey to Jessica before approaching Aaron. "You didn't forget?" She whispered as he shook his head. "I could never forget your birthday," he said, holding her close as they embraced each other in a hug. Aaron smiled and kissed her passionately.

"I got you a present," he mused, pulling a small package from his pocket. "It's from Jack and Abbey too." Haley couldn't stop her smile as she opened the gift. Inside was a small necklace, with a picture of Aaron, Jack and Abbey inside. "This way, you can keep us next to your heart as well as inside," he explained.

"I love it Aaron. Can you help me put it on?" Haley asked, turning around as together, they put it on. "It's beautiful. Where's my big boy?"

Jack grinned and ran over to his mom, wrapping his arms around her legs in a hug. "Youd like the present mommy?" He asked, an expectant look on his face. Haley bent down and kissed him on the forehead. "I loved it." Jack grinned even wider – if that were possible – as though he had completed a great feat. And so the party began.

* * *

Hotch smiled as he came down the stairs and dropped onto the couch next to Haley. "Jack's finally gone to sleep. Remind me to never let him have cake and soda before bed again," he chuckled as Haley smirked, cuddling into him and laying her head on his chest. "At least we have some alone time."

"I'm sorry I made you mad earlier; I didn't want to ruin the surprise," he whispered, pressing a soft kiss to her lips as she smiled. "I'm sorry I snapped at you; I was just..." she said, trailing off as he kissed her.

"I love you Haley Hotchner," he whispered against her lips. "Oh, and happy birthday." Haley smirked and straddled Hotch, her hands wrapped around his neck.

"I love you too, Aaron Hotchner."


End file.
